The Art of Scientific Precision

There is an art to creating and restoring handcrafted string instruments, particularly within the classical music industry. It takes an individual with artistic and scientific precision, as well as respect for the time-honored craft, to create and preserve these delicate pieces so they may be enjoyed for generations to come.

With the expertise of a composer organizing the elements of a masterpiece, ]each violin that Emmanuel constructs is meticulously crafted from the finest materials. Those that he restores are often irreplaceable markers in the pages of classical music history.

Emmanuel, who started playing violin at the age of five, enjoyed it so much that after attending violin-making school in England, he moved to New York City to pursue his dreams in classical music. Today he not only builds and restores violins with the utmost focus and care to serve musicians, he also runs a concert hall in New York City to share his passion for classical music with the public.

Emmanuel Gradoux-Matt is one of a handful of Lincoln Individuals featured in The Lincoln Motor Company’s current print campaign for the 2013 MKZ.

A Few Words For ProustWe ask our Lincoln Individuals to consider a few questions from the Proust Questionnaire.

Q: What is your greatest fear?
A: To be alone.

Q: What is your current state of mind?
A: Happy.

Q: What is your favorite occupation?
A: Listening to music.

Q: What historical figure do you most identify with?
A: Leonardo da Vinci.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: Prince Peter in War and Peace, of Tolstoy.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?
A: My body.

Q: When and where were you happiest?
A: Birth of my children.

Q: What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
A: The fear of being alone.

Q: What is the trait you most deplore in others?
A: Weakness.

Q: What is your favorite journey?
A trek alone in the Andes of Peru, on the Inca Trail.

Q: What do you consider the most overrate virtue?
A: Intelligence.

Q: On what occasion do you lie?
A: When I don’t have a choice.

Q: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
A: I love you.

Q: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
A: The fear of loneliness.

Q: How would you like to die?
A: Very old.

Q: If you were to die and come back as a person or an animal, what do you think it would be?
President Lincoln.

Q: If you could choose an object to come back as, what would you choose?
A: A Stradivarius violin.